Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings on Sept. 23
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 23 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
H316892: Internal Advice Request; Transaction Value; Multi-Tiered Transaction
| Ruling: The imported goods may be appraised under transaction value based on the price actually paid or payable for the merchandise by the U.S. importer. |
| Issue: whether the “first sale” transaction between each of the foreign manufacturers and the middleman may be used to determine the transaction value of the imported merchandise |
| Item: Metalworking, woodworking and industrial tools. The importer designs, markets and sells the tools. The middleman sources the tools, negotiates prices with the suppliers and supplies the products. It does not hold physical inventory of the merchandise. The terms of sale between the manufacturer and the middleman indicate risk of loss transferred from the manufacturer to the middleman FOB at the port of shipment. The sales terms between the middleman and the importer were FOB international dateline. The U.S. importer paid the freight charges and the marine cargo insurance, including between the port of shipment and the international date line. The master supply agreement that said that risk of loss and title between the middleman and the importer pass at the same time unless otherwise agreed. |
| Reason: A seller needs to have title to merchandise to be able to sell it. Since title and risk of loss here transferred directly from the foreign manufacturers to the U.S. importer, the middleman acted more as an agent rather than as an independent seller. The middleman did not obtain title to the goods in order to sell them and could not sell what he did not own to the U.S. importer. |
| Ruling Date: July 20, 2022 |
H324644: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3501-22-102993; Tariff classification of collapsible metal containers
| Ruling: The collapsible metal storage containers are classified in subheading 8609.00 as “Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids) specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport.” The column one, general rate of duty at the time of entry is free. |
| Issue: whether the collapsible metal storage containers are containers for carriage of subheading 8609.00, or prefabricated buildings, of subheading 9406.90 |
| Items: Collapsible metal storage containers made of heavy-duty steel and are available in various sizes. The relocatable storage containers are used for onsite storage, portable storage, and long-distance transportation via truck, railroad, or ISO ocean container. These containers are intended to be reused and re-transported repeatedly. The container is designed to be handled for delivery and transport by a range of equipment including rollback trucks, trailers, cranes, and forklifts. |
| Reason: The collapsible containers at issue meet the terms of heading 8609. They are packing receptacles, which are specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport. They are equipped with fittings to facilitate handling and securing on the transporting vehicles, aircraft, or vessel; they are thus suitable for the “door-to-door” transport of goods without intermediate repacking, and, being of robust construction, are intended to be used repeatedly. |
| Ruling Date: July 21, 2022 |
H311645: Revocation of NY N300518; Classification of a fluorescence confocal microscope
| Ruling: The subject fluorescence confocal microscope is classified in subheading 9018.19.40, which provides for “Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments; parts and accessories thereof: Electro-diagnostic apparatus (including apparatus for functional exploratory examination or for checking physiological parameters); parts and accessories thereof: Other: Apparatus for functional exploratory examination, and parts and accessories thereof.” The column one, general rate of duty is free. |
| Issue: whether the fluorescence confocal microscope is classifiable in heading 9012, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., as microscopes other than optical microscopes, or in heading 9018, HTSUS, as instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences |
| Item: A stand-alone fluorescence confocal microscope. The Cellvizio NOVA utilizes a confocal laser system with fiber optic probes that allow for the imaging of the internal microstructure of tissue. The instrument consists of a wheeled platform that incorporates the requisite laser imaging system, a touchable user interface (TUI), connectors for the fiber optic probes, and other peripheral equipment, such as a thermic printer. The Cellvizio NOVA is said to be suitable for use in a variety of applications, including gastroscopy, colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, and uteroscopy, among others. The Cellvizio NOVA utilizes its confocal laser system to generate endomicroscopic images that a physician can view (via the TUI) and print. |
| Reason: Where articles can be classified under two Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. headings, under GRI 3(a) the classification "turns on which of these two provisions are more specific." The tariff terms “instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences” heading are more specific than the tariff term “microscopes.” Accordingly, heading 9018 is the most difficult provision to satisfy as it covers a narrower set of items than heading 9012. |
| Ruling Date: July 18, 2022 |